Growing Closer to God Pt 13
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Freedom from Defeat
Freedom from Defeat
Last week I told you that we would be discussing several freedoms over the next few weeks. Last week we discussed freedom from condemnation. We talked about how the past is the past in Christ and that we no longer have to hold onto that baggage, but we can embrace the future and the new life with full confidence. This morning I want talk to you about freedom from defeat.
In your life as a Christian there will no doubt be times when you feel like Gideon. We will be discussing Gideon in length in our night services, but for now I will give you a small overview. If you’re familiar with the recount of Gideon you know he was charged to help Israel defeat those whom oppressed them. He started out with a decent army, but still outnumbered. Then God dwindled his army and waited.
Someone needs to hear this: I needed to hear this. If you are getting discouraged in the place God has you right now than your in the right place. God will take you to a place where you cannot take the credit for the victory and in order to do that you have first have to wait and dwindle. As humans we tend to pace and question. I know when I get to this place I am trying everything and anything to scrape my way out of bottom. So how, when times get hard, do we quit quitting and start winning.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:5-
To win battles in the midst of great discouragement:
Discouragement starts in the mind.
Discouragement starts in the mind.
Your ears, your eyes, your senses are all flooding your mind and what Paul is stating that if we live our life according to the flesh our minds will focus on the natural.
The best way I can describe this is through what I am going through right now with the house we are flipping. My wife and I have dedicated a decent chunk of the sale of our house to a specific ministry—not the church. As soon as we did that, made that up in our mind, Satan began attacking. In the last two weeks, my painter took off with the deposit. The work that was done, had to be redone. The money I had is gone, because I had to pay people to do the work I already paid to get done. Right now, understand this message is a timely message for me, but I, we, cannot walk around like those without hope.
Understand what Paul is stating: When I focus on the money I don’t have, the work that still needs to be done and paid for, the ministry check I wrote I begin to focus on the natural realm. I begin to focus on the things of the flesh. Listen some here have a misconception of the flesh. The flesh isn’t only lust, lying, and such. It’s anything that can be taken in through one of your five senses---it’s your bank account, your mortgage, you car. Anything that makes you loose sleep, makes your stomach hurt, or causes stress is of the flesh. It doesn’t matter what the Doctor told you because as we are going to find out—you may think you have the Spirit of God, but a true mark of a Christian is when
The Spirit of God Has You!
The Spirit of God Has You!
Satan wants you to focus on the flesh. That’s his playground. But I know the promises of God.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith isn’t only the unseen, but according to Paul in this verse faith is conviction—meaning something you believe beyond a shadow of a doubt, of anything that stand outside of our 5 senses. It’s knowing that, man I might see no phyiscal way out, but
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Whatever God set you to do will finish. You will get over this hump. For me my house WILL SELL ON TIME! and I’ll be able to do what I know God has asked me to do. The days may come to an open and a close faster than I can keep up, but God is in the Past. God is in the Present and God is in the future. Time cannot out run God. You maybe a dollar short, a week of schedule. You may have news from the Dr. that is devestating your whole life. I don’t know what your going through but
HE WHO HAS STARTED THE GOOD WORK WILL FINISH THE GOOD WORK. If you’re still alive then it isn’t finished. Jesus said it is finished and he took his last breathe. If you’re still breathing God is still working. it’s not time to give up. It’s not time to surrender.
IT IS TIME TO
REFOCUS
REFOCUS
and maybe draw your eyes outside of the flesh and focus on the Spirit of God. I don’t have time to focus on the negative, because God has me running toward the positive.
I was listening to a Podcast this week. A man’s daughter was in a car accident. She was life flighted to the hospital. They had her in the OR. The family is pacing with worry and concern. After several hours the Dr. comes out and says that they had to amputate his daughters leg, but she will be fine. This man starts loudly praising God cathcing the eye of not only his family, but everyone else. They ask why he s rejoicing. Their daughters life has changed. He said because there isn’t brain damage and there isn’t death. Joy doesn’t come from different circumstances joy comes from refocusing. Removing our eyes from the things of the flesh and setting them on the things of the Spirit.
The mind of the flesh
Does not Submit to God’s law
Does not Submit to God’s law
God’s law takes 1 jar of oil and pours out enough to fill hundreds of jars.
God’s law take 5 loaves of bread and feeds 5 thousand
God’s law takes the widows mite and multiplies to reach thousands for the Gospel.
God’s law doesn’t obide by Newton’s 3rd law. God doesn’t make bad things happen, but he turns your morning into dancing. He takes what Satan uses to destroy and he creates a testimony that could only glorify Him. He takes an army and marches them around a wall singing until it collapses.
Praise and worry cannot inhabit the same space.
Praise and worry cannot inhabit the same space.
You cannot worry when you are head deep in the praises of God. You wonder why stress has you down? You wonder why sickness is destroying you. It’s because you come here on Sunday morning and and sit during praise and worship. Something tells me if you’re sitting on Sunday your sitting on monday. If your sitting on monday than your sitting on tuesday. and so on.
You cannot receive the victory until you begin to dance and shout the victory.
Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let us dance and shout the victory. Why? Not because you have the Spirit of God within you, but because the
Spirit of God has YOU
Spirit of God has YOU
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans *:15
And as Son’s God will protect us, God will lead us, God will rescue us!
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
The suffering your in now is going to lead to glorifying of your savior. You cannot rejoice if you have nothing to rejoice over. If there aren’t hard times there cannot be good times. If there aren’t times of work, there cannot be times of pleasure. But trust me when I say if God has put you in a time of work your time of play is going to come shortly. Listen I am prophesying. If you’re struggling now God will have the victory. He is weeding out your garden so when the fruit grows no one but him can take credit for the victory.
But—someone say BUT
The measure of dancing in your life will be the measure of victory in your life. Somebody this morning someone is about to receive the Jehoahaz blessing.
And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped.
Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
2 Kings 1
Listen someone here is recieving this. You have been fighting you have been battling you have been sweating. You shot the arrow out the window in faith and victory is guarenteed, but you can’t stop short.
Jehoahaz stopped before God was finished. You cannot leave the battle with arrows in your quiver. If you aren’t given it all she got you aren’t finishing what God wants to do in you. Listen if you aren’t so tired you need men to hold up your arms like they held up moses than you ain’t finished yet. Some of you still have arrows left to fire. Don’t stop. Don’t stop don’tstop. Because the devil wants to convince you it’s over when God hasn’t even begun. For some of us God hasn’t even shown up yet. We are still trying to do this in the flesh, but the flesh is weak. It cannot win the battle.
You are sons and daughters of the most high God. It’s about time some of us stand up and say my daddy is bigger than your daddy---GO get em daddy. It isn’t weakness to envoke the power of God isn’t weakness to fail to admit you need his power in your life. You can’t do this alone. You were never meant to do this alone. BUT IT WILL GET DONE. GOD WILL SEE THIS TO COMPLETION.