so today i invite you to speak to your
enemy
speak to that enemy called anxiety and
tell it to leave your life
speak to that enemy called depression
and tell it you have everlasting joy in
jesus the joy of the lord is your
strength
speak to the dysfunction in your family
and command unity in jesus name
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speak to the fear in your heart and
embrace the spirit of god a spirit of
peace love and a sound mind
and so i want you to name your enemy
name your enemy
and rebuke it in jesus name
an enemy isn't just someone who opposes
you
it can also be a sin you're struggling
with
it can be something within you
that you need god to take care of
like jealousy
bitterness
or pride
the bible says in exodus 23 verse 22
but if you carefully obey his voice and
do all that i say
then i will be an enemy to your enemies
and an adversary to your adversaries
let's focus on the latter part of that
verse
god said i will be an enemy to your
enemies and an adversary to your
adversaries
think about that
whoever comes against you
if you are careful to be obedient to the
lord's voice whoever comes against you
will have to face god first
now it makes sense to me why david said
he prepares a table for me in the
presence of my enemies
he knew
david knew that if the good shepherd was
leading him if he was obedient to the
steps direction and call of god then
there is no enemy that would be able to
stand against him
saints we absolutely need jesus
we need him daily we need his mercy
daily we need his grace and favor daily
and we definitely need his protection
because no matter how skilled you are no
matter how wealthy you are you can never
protect yourself enough to block the
attacks from the devil on your own
many are the afflictions of the
righteous
but the lord delivers him out of them
all
in other words
many are the challenges that you will
face over the course of your life
many will be the obstacles that you come
up against as you grow older but here's
the key thing that we need to remember
the key thing to remember is that god
will deliver you from them all
this has nothing to do with your talent
or ability it's got nothing to do with
your wealthy friends or your ingenuity
but it has everything to do with jesus
christ he alone delivers
it's only jesus who can block the arrows
of the enemy it's only jesus who can
disturb the enemy's plan over your life
it's only jesus who can expose the traps
that are set before you by the
principalities and powers that we
wrestle against
and so to put it plainly
look to jesus
remain in the lord abide in him wait on
him stand on his word
let him be the beginning and the end for
all things concerning you
we live in a world that is marred by sin
ever since the fall of man
evil has been abundantly present and
visible in the world
and in the lives of man
anger greed and lust envy these are the
things that secretly dwell in every
human heart
these are some of the things at the root
cause of all the suffering we see in the
world
and you see it's through evil satan
tries to shake our faith in god
he tries to destabilize discourage and
distract you but the good news is that
we are children of god and our father
has promised to protect us and guard us
against all evil
in this life it's easy to sometimes be
discouraged by the darkness we see all
around us
we may even undergo spiritual attacks of
our own
but we can rest in the knowledge that
god will be with us through every battle
he will not abandon us to be defeated he
will not remove his faithful love from
us and leave us to fend for ourselves
satan is always looking for
opportunities to lead people away from
god and set them on a path to
destruction
his tactics can be fierce
temptation can be compelling
at times we may be in a position where
we have more questions than answers when
it comes to god
but i want to remind you that we have a
savior in jesus
yes we may be attacked by fear at some
point
but we have a savior in jesus christ
the way to beat the devil is not by
being stronger smarter or faster than
him
the way we beat the devil is by calling
upon the name he cannot stand the name
of jesus
jesus is the light that drives out the
darkness
at the name of jesus satan has to flee
demons have to tremble
and nature has to bow down
christ alone has ultimate authority over
all creation
and he has promised to be with us in
every struggle
sometimes we can't avoid passing through
the waters of life
sometimes we may be surrounded by evil
on all sides
we may not be able to change our
circumstances but if we can only walk by
faith not by sight
we will see the hand of god moving and
protecting us from harm
he has already declared that no weapon
formed against us shall stand
and if he is for us
who can be against us
have you ever wanted something so badly
that you would do anything to get it
maybe you worked day and night
to get that business off the ground
maybe you put in countless hours of
training all so that you could sharpen
your skills
or perhaps you worked overtime for
months to get that
promotion now imagine
imagine taking that same energy
that same intensity and hunger
to chase jesus christ
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what would happen if we had that same
relentless dedication in our walk with
christ
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just imagine
how strong god's presence would be in
our lives
imagine the level of anointing
that would be released over us
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now i'd like to turn your attention to a
man who desired god
in a desperate way
genesis 32 verses 24 through 28 read
and jacob was left alone
and a man wrestled with him
until the breaking of the day
when the man saw that he did not prevail
against jacob
he touched his hip socket
and jacob's hip was put out of joint as
he wrestled with him
then he said let me go
for the day has broken but jacob said i
will not let you go
unless you bless me
and he said to him what is your name
and he said jacob
then he said your name shall no longer
be called jacob
but israel
for you have striven with god
and with men
and have prevailed
can you imagine the intensity of this
scene
jacob wrestled
with god in the flesh
that takes an exceptional amount of
willpower and resolve
jacob wrestled with god through pain
and tiredness and fatigue all night long
why
because he had such an appetite to be
blessed by god
furthermore he had the boldness to ask
for the blessing
can you say that about your faith
can you say that you have such a desire
such an appetite
that you're willing to fight through
anything
or anyone
often
we hold back our prayers because of
doubt
because of sin
but saints
god delights in us offering sincere
prayers to him
of course
he knows all of our wants and needs
before we can even say them
but god wants us to come to him
in persistent prayer
asking
seeking
knocking
demonstrating that we completely believe
that he is willing and able to help us
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you