You will experience true deliverance, true freedom.

 We don't have to be who we've been. We don't have to be slaves to our flesh anymore. We don't have to be trapped and caught up in a cycle of sin. God has called us out of that lifestyle and he has called us to so much more. He's called us to higher things. He's called us to be his children, to love him and to be loved. Sin is the only thing separating you from God. The question is, will you keep living in darkness? Will you keep living in that cycle? Or will you today call upon the name of Jesus Christ? Will you today ask the Lord Almighty to break those cycles of sin in your life? 

Think carefully because when you do call on him, once you take that step, you will never be the same. You will experience true deliverance, true freedom. Any chains holding you down are destroyed. So break that cycle. Choose God. Because he first love you. 

 When life puts you through excruciating pain, I understand that it could be hard to remain positive. In that moment, it can be hard to see how your circumstances could possibly turn out for the better. But allow me to encourage you and tell you that the longer you live, the more you come to understand that there will be times where it feels as though the Lord is literally breaking you. However, the reality, my friends, is that he is in fact building you. 

Think about the story of Joseph. Joseph was a faithful servant of God. Yet, he was betrayed by his own brothers, he was sold into slavery, he was falsely accused, he was   imprisoned, and he was forgotten. Joseph suffered setback after setback in his life. Even though he did nothing wrong, even when though it might have felt like God was breaking him, God was actually building him. 

God was building his faith, his tenacity, and his strength so that at the proper time, God might elevate him to a position he never would have thought possible. James 1: verse 2 to verse 4 reads, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." 

That is the mindset we are meant to have in times of tribulation. This is the truth that allowed Joseph in Genesis 50:20* to say to Pharaoh and at the end of all his trials, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." 

What would happen if we had the same attitude toward our own suffering? What would happen if we came to the realization that what the devil intends for harm against us, God will use it for good? After all, the word of God in Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose." What a powerful reminder of God's love for us. There is no such thing as meaningless sorrow. God uses it all for our good. The rest of the world gets discouraged, bitter and depressed when they encounter suffering. But our hope is in Jesus Christ. Even if this life disappoints us, our faith is in the one who has overcome all things. 

Jesus faced the greatest suffering of all. He allowed himself to be broken so that we wouldn't have to be. So today, if you're choosing to remain faithful in spite of your pain, you can rest in the truth that through this, Jesus is making you more like himself. 

I want to encourage you to call on the Lord before you look anywhere else, before you look to anyone else. Call on the name that is above every other name, the name of Jesus Christ. 

Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." 

For every season in life, the word of God has an answer. 

When you are worried. Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

Should you be in a season where the future appears to be uncertain and the unknown makes you fearful. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 

Now, perhaps you are unsettled within you. Maybe there are issues you are  dealing with and they've left your heart in a restless state. Well, John 14: 1, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me." 

I urge you today to get to know the word of God for yourself. Get God's word within you. Read scripture as often as you can. Memorize Bible verses and meditate on them as often as you can. Because when you go through the many seasons of life, the ups and downs of this life, it's only what is in you that will sustain you. And if the word of God is in you, then you will survive. You will make it by the grace of God and the power in his word. 

Now, the reason why it is so vital for us to meditate on God's word is because 

we're told in Joshua 1 verse 8 that "keep this book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 

The word of God has an answer for us throughout every season of life. And so we must be anchored in God's word and our prayers must be rooted in scripture. 

And what I mean, people of God, is that we need to speak the word of God over ourselves. We need to declare the word of God in our lives. We need to confess it. And I believe that we need to assert the word of God as the governing authority over our lives. And what I mean by saying that we need to assert the word of God is when you look at the definition of the word assert, it means state a fact or belief confidently and forcefully. It means to state with assurance, to state with  confidence, or to state strongly. So that's what l'd like to encourage you to do. 

State the word of God confidently at all times. 

State the word of God forcefully when the enemy tries to attack you. 

When he tries to attack your home, when he tries to attack your family, state the word of God with power. state it strongly and speak with assurance. I say all of this because when God speaks, things happen, things change. 

And dear saints, God has spoken to us through his word. This is why we're told in Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away." Now let us pray. 

🙏:

Father, Colossians 3:16 tells us to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Help us to keep your word. Help us to keep your word hidden in the chambers of our hearts. I pray that we would not just know your Word, but may we be people who walk in your word. Help us to keep your precepts diligently so that all our ways are directed by you. Help us to keep your commands, dear Lord. Let us not be hypocritical and claim to be Christians yet refuse to practice your word. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would push me to meditate on God's word. Help me to make it a practice, to make it a routine to read the Bible and spend quality time in the word. We know Lord that there is a need in our lives to get to know the word of God because it will change us. It will build our character and it will mold us into vessels that God can use. 

Your word is powerful and I believe that it will cut through every evil, carnal and selfish thought within me. 

I believe that the word of God can even challenge my very attitude and perspective. 

And so we cling to your word because it is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Your word is living almighty God. Meaning it has life. It brings life and it is life to the believer. 

I pray that your word would act just like fire and refine us of all impurities. May you burn away the sin, the cycles of sin and addiction. No, just like a hammer. I pray that your word would destroy any evil stronghold in our lives. 

And I pray that it would build and strengthen a godly character in us. May your word act just like a mirror so that it will expose my blemishes against the true likeness of Christ. 

And just like a lamp and a light that guides us in darkness, may your word give us direction and reveal God's will for my life. 

Like food, may your word provide nourishment because your word says man 

cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God. 

May your holy word, the word that has withtood the test of time, may it 

cleanse and wash me. May it renew my mindset and build my faith. 

I pray and declare Psalm 119 verse 168 to 172 **, which says, "I keep your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you. Let my cry come before you, oh Lord. Give me understanding according to your word. Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word. My lips shall utter praise. For you teach me your statutes. My tongue shall speak of your word. For all your commands are righteousness. 

I bless your name and I praise you King Jesus. Thank you for hearing this  prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. 

Amen. 

Friends, as individuals, we are often blinded to the dangers of prayerlessness. Praying is not easy. Praying should not be casual. It's spiritual warfare. However, a prayerless Christian is completely powerless because there is no relationship with God. Have you ever noticed that when you need the Lord to intervene in your life, when you need a miracle or a breakthrough, no one has to tell you that you need to pray, no one has to tell you that you need to have a prayer life. Often times when we are in need, there is an intensity about our prayers. However, the difficulty we all face is that once our personal needs are met, once the battle has been won, once the breakthrough has come, the fire that was once in our prayers, it seems to fizzle out. And we need to be aware of this. We need to guard against this.

 There are two things I want to discuss about prayer. And the first thing is prayer is not about how you feel, it's about what you need. The second thing is prayer is not a fire exit. It's not the red ejection button that can bail you out of anything. 

Now before l dive into these points, let me tell you that we all pray. We all pray in one form or another. 

The issue when it comes to prayer is do we pray during the days where we don't feel like it? Do we pray during the time when it feels tough, when it's hard? That's the issue with prayer for most of us because if you really think about it, there is something that will happen sooner or later that will force you to pray. 

A sinner wil pray when life gets hard enough. A liar, a thief, a sexually immoral person, they will all pray when life gets difficult. Because the reason why more often than not they don't get results is because they view prayer as a fire exit suitable for emergency use only. I mean, think of it. When you walk in a building, none of us are really concerned about the fire exits. That is until an emergency. And as quiet as it's kept, often people view prayer in that same way. 

But here's what you should know. Prayer is not about how you're feeling. 

Prayer is not about what you're feeling. 

Prayer is about what you need. 

And what you need is Lord Jesus Christ. What you need is a relationship with Jesus. What you need is to hunger, seek and search for the Lord in prayer. 

Furthermore, prayer is not a fire escape. We are to remain always in 

prayer. We need to look at prayer as a necessity rather than some sort of rescue process. 

Now, whenever I speak to people about prayer, here are the main questions I'm asked. 

•Why is it so hard to pray? 

•Why am l so inconsistent with prayer? 

And for a moment, I'd like for you to think. Why don't we pray? At least not to the level that we know we should be praying. I believe there are a number of reasons why we don't pray as we ought to as believers. 

And now, as I list these reasons, be honest with yourself if any point   resonates with you. 

¹A lot of Christians don't pray because they're comfortable. Life is good. They're making a decent living. They're living in relatively good health. Life is comfortable. And we are creatures of comfort. 

²So, we would rather sleep an extra half an hour than wake up to pray. 

³We would rather watch something and unwind than use that time to pray. 

Being comfortable means that we think we don't need to pray. 

But here's the thing. If someone walked down the street, a complete stranger, if they came up to you and said, "I need your help with something. I need you to help me with this. I need you to give me that and I need you to fix this situation." If someone came and said this to you, how many of you would say, "Sure thing, l'Il help you." None of us would. Not to a complete and total stranger, but if it were a friend, a relative, if it were someone we have a relationship with, someone we have spent time with and gotten to know, then it's easier to help such a person, right? 

Well, l'd like to submit to you that a lot of us are going to God with an emergency list of prayer requests and miracles, but we haven't put the time in to build a relationship with him. God's never heard you pray with any  sincerity when things were comfortable for you. He's never seen you on your knees when you were enjoying the good season in your life. So, think about it. Why should he drop everything for someone who shows little to no effort? God is not mocked. You can't put him out of the driver's seat only for you to crash and expect him to clean up the mess you've made. 

What I'm trying to encourage you to do is pray in and through every season of your life. 

If you're blessed, pray. 

If you're feeling down and discouraged, pray. 

If you're living in abundance and safe, pray.

So even when you're waiting and you don't see a breakthrough, you don't see an answer to your prayer, you have union with him. He says "I'm with you lll never leave you or forsake you, you're going to overcome this." There's something working in you. There's something filling oil in you through   this. There's something in you is happening that's expanding the flask into a jug that can take more oil. So that when you actually start walking around the streets as part of the bride and as a servant of the bride, your torch is bright, your song is loud, your dance is Davidic in its splendor. Okay I don't know about you. It is like man falling in love. This is a love to celebrate. Don't you guys want to come to the marriage feast with us. 

They would invite people on the way to the marriage feast. So you being prepared and secure in the love of God. It is not only for us. It's not because we're afraid of having the door slammed in our face We already went in there but other people have not gone in there. Maybe today you've not received the invitation from Jesus, the proposal from Jesus. Why don't you just say yes. 

 Let him bring you to his banqueting house, for his banner over you is love. And he will never cast you out. He will never kick you to the curb He's not like that. Okay. So we've already gone in there. AlI right. I think I've sort of done this. Okay. So some people were prepared. They were like "Okay we're not going to miss out on the groom. We know how great this groom is. We know how great this part is going to be. The day before, we're taking dad's money. We're not earning money. We're taking dad's money and we're going to go prepare with everything that he's given us, the  resources he's given us. We're going to prepare. We're going to buy oil. When you actually buy oil it costs you something. It will cost you but it's something that the Father has given you to pay. Does this make sense. God's given you time. He's given you gifts. He's given you access to his presence. And it'll cost you your time and your agenda to posture yourself before the bridegroom. But is that like a chore to you. 

Is that a duty or an obligation when you know the fire in his eyes. 

When you know the anointing that flows from him. Where does all this oil come from. In our flask, I mean oil, biblically it's you know we can go through it right now. I mean oil it's a symbol of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 5:5 says, "God's love is poured into our hearts through an infinite flow.

Second Kings 4, Elisha told a widow, "Hey, just keep pouring out this little flask of oil and if you keep pouring it in faith, it's going to keep coming out. It's an endless supply." Oil stands for abundance. In the Psalms, grain, wine and oil, it's this trio and it means abundance. God is abundantly providing for you. He's abundantly blessed you at the cost of his own blood. Okay. Oil, it means a flowing   connection. Again, in Zechariah 4, we get this idea of a lamp being fed by pipes that come from two olive trees. And there's a little verse; "not by might, not by power but by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. He's like "l'm going to provide this stuff You just root down right underneath the pipe and it's going to flow down into your flask. If you're running around trying to buy oil for someone else's wedding, you're not going to be under the spigot. Okay. See there's people that were waiting and they're like "Even if I fall asleep, I'm at peace cuz when I wake up l've got oil. I'm not going to miss out. I know who who's coming. I know how great the party's going to be. l'll never take a chance of missing out on that." And there's other people that go, " I think we have everything planned. Okay. Well I think oh we forgot oil. Oh no, we fell asleep Oh no all the shops are closed Let me bustle around It's like that 

person didn't know what could be missed That person didn't even think about it 

in advance They were so burdened and preoccupied by other things 

because they had never really known how great this groom was how great this wedding was how great this feast was 

No there's been trips that I haven't been excited to go on. Have you ever had one like that where you're like "Oh ! I got to fly to Cleveland or something." You know you're like "Who wants to go there?" You know and you don't I don't really like think about it too much. I'm like "Oh! That's coming up in like 3 days I guess I should probably pack you know cuz I'm not ...

NOTES:-

*Genesis 50:20 states that while Joseph's brothers intended to harm him, God intended it for good to save many lives. This verse highlights the theme of God's sovereignty and ability to bring good out of evil situations.

Overview of Genesis 50:20

Genesis 50:20 is a significant verse in the Bible that highlights themes of forgiveness, divine purpose, and the transformation of evil into good. It is part of the story of Joseph and his brothers, where Joseph addresses the harm they intended against him.

Key Message

Human Intent vs. Divine Purpose

Human Intent: Joseph's brothers intended to harm him by selling him into slavery due to their jealousy.

Divine Purpose: Despite their evil intentions, God used these events for a greater good, which was to save many lives during a famine.

Different Translations

Translation: Text

NIV: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." 

Portuguese (Brazil): "Vocês pretendiam me fazer mal, mas Deus planejou tudo para o bem. Ele me trouxe a esta situação para que eu pudesse salvar a vida de muitas pessoas."

KJV: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."

Vietnamese: "Các người định hại tôi, nhưng Chúa lại định mọi chuyện đều tốt đẹp. Người đưa tôi đến vị trí này để tôi có thể cứu mạng nhiều người."

NLT: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people."

“你本意是要害我，但上帝的旨意是好的。他让我走到今天这一步，是为了拯救许多人的生命。”

NKJV: "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

Lithuanian: „Tu norėjai man pakenkti, bet Dievas visa tai pavertė gera. Jis atvedė mane į šią padėtį, kad galėčiau išgelbėti daugelio žmonių gyvybes.“

Themes and Implications

Forgiveness: Joseph's response teaches the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation.

God's Sovereignty: The verse emphasizes that God can turn human evil into a part of His divine plan.

Hope and Purpose: It reassures believers that even in difficult situations, God is in control and can bring about good outcomes.

**Psalms 119:160-172

160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

161 Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word.

162 I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.

163 I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law.

164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.

165 Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

166 I wait for your salvation, LORD, and I follow your commands.

167 I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly.

168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.

169 May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word.

170 May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.

171 May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.

172 May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.

***Romans 5:5 states that hope does not disappoint because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. This verse emphasizes the assurance and confidence believers have in God's love and promises.

Overview of Romans 5:5

Romans 5:5 is a significant verse in the New Testament that emphasizes the relationship between hope, God's love, and the Holy Spirit.

Key Themes

Hope: The verse states that hope does not disappoint or put us to shame. This hope is rooted in the promises of God and is a confident expectation for believers.

God's Love: It highlights that God's love has been abundantly poured into the hearts of believers. This love is not given sparingly but is described as overflowing.

The Holy Spirit: The verse mentions that this love is experienced through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to believers. The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in affirming the believer's relationship with God.

Different Translations

Translation Text

NIV "And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

KJV "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

NLT "And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

ESV "And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Significance

This verse reassures believers of the certainty of their hope in God, emphasizing that it is grounded in His unwavering love and the transformative presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.