Feel his glorious presence. He is nearer to you
than you could possibly know. So near you just
need to reach out and touch his seamless robe.
So near to you. that he sees the falling tears
so near he hears that sigh. Father, in Jesus'
name, be that one's strengthener. Give victory
this moment where there's defeat. Just now, make
that one's sun to shine again, for the clouds
are so dark. No man, no woman need ever be defeated.
Not so long as God is still on his throne and
hears an answer's prayer. I cannot see with my
small human sight. Why God should lead this way
or that for me? I only know he saith, child,
follow me. But I compressed. I know not why my
past should be a time so strictly hedged, so
strongly barred before. I only know God could
keep wide the door, but I can trust. I often
wonder, as with trembling hand I cast the seed
along the furrowed ground, if ripened fruit will
in my life be found, but I can trust. I cannot
know why suddenly the storm should rage so fiercely
round me in its wrath. But this I know. God watches
all my path. And I can trust. I have no power
to look across the tide, to see while hear the
land beyond the river. But this I know. I shall
be God's forever. And so I trust. In all these
things, we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us. Thus reads a portion of the Word
of God as found in the 8th chapter of Romans,
the 37th verse. Let me read it again. In all
these things, not things, in troubles. in tribulation,
distress, trials, broken hearts, no matter what
happens to you, in all these things, these discouraging
things that come into your life, that come into
my life, you and I are not only conquerors, the
Word of God says, we are more than conquerors
through Him that... That's the reason I can say
to you every day that I come into your home,
you need not to be defeated, not on a single
score, not so long as God is still on his throne
and hears and answers prayer. Because he has
promised that we are more than conquerors over
all of these things that come into our lives.
through Him who loves us with an everlasting
love. Oh, isn't that thrilling to you? In this
marvelous promise, the Lord has unloosed a flood
tide of divine promise that bounds like a mighty
Niagara from out of the heaven themselves. And
it's just like that. There is absolutely no limit.
to this promise. There are no boundaries to the
possibilities that you and I find in just this
one promise. The powers of darkness are greater
than your resolutions, are your willpower. Sometimes
I think we depend too much on our own willpower.
That's the reason many a man and many a woman
finds themselves in defeat. Because some of these
problems, some of these things are greater than
man's willpower. The powers of darkness are...
often greater than your willpower. And you find
yourself defeated. But listen to me. The powers
of righteousness, the power of Jesus Christ,
is greater than all other powers combined. When
resurrection life walks toward the grave, death
begins to tremble. When disease and sickness
seize the great physician and seals the healing
virtue of the son of living God, it begins to
loose its grip and lets go its cruel hold. When
hellish habits cure the approach of the nail
-pierced feet of our Savior, they know that the
mighty conqueror himself has come, the one who
breaks. Every fetter. When a man comes and says,
I'm defeated. But I come into the presence of
a power that's greater than any human power.
Greater than my willpower. My own willpower fails.
I want to be delivered from the power of liquor.
I want to be delivered from this thing. I want
to be set free. Believe me, I tell you. The power
of the enemy begins to tremble. The enemy himself
begins to tremble because he knows the power
that there is in the person of Jesus Christ,
God's Son. He knows that there is deliverance
in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He knows the
full extent of the love. Of the person of God
the Father. Oh, I found a friend. Oh, such a
friend. So kind and true and tender. So wise
a counselor and guide. So mighty a defender.
From him. Who loves me now so well, what power
my soul can sever? Shall life, or death, or earth,
or hell? No, a thousand times no, for I am his
forever. Pause just a few minutes. First of all,
recognize His presence. Be conscious of the mighty
abiding presence of the Lord. May His presence
be very real to you. And if His presence is real,
you'll never go down in defeat. Never. As we
walk and talk with Him, His presence overshadows
us. As the great ministering hosts say, talk
about power. If you and I only fully knew the
power that there is in the very presence of our
Lord, we'd never be discouraged again, not so
long as we live. You want to know something?
My heart never ceases to thrill to the experience
of Elisha and his servant. I love it. Just for
my own encouragement. Just for my own benefit.
I read it ever so often. And each time, I benefit
greatly. The account of which, of course, is
given in the sixth chapter of 2 Kings. Oh, this
is wonderful. Seemingly Elisha and his servant
were at their wit's end. And on the surface of
things, there couldn't possibly, there just couldn't
be anything else but defeat for them. For there
they were. A poor preacher and his one scared
servant against the enemies, and the enemy's
power was Just two of them, just Elisha and his
servant, who was scared stiff, against the power
of a mighty army. Now, on the surface of things,
how could Elisha and his servant possibly have
victory over their enemy? In the natural, they
couldn't. The whole army had come just to get
this one servant of God. I always did think that
this was one of the greatest compliments that
was ever paid to a Christian gentleman. Well,
sir, Elisha's servant got scared, scared stiff.
If you and I had been there, we would have seen
the great beads of perspiration on his brow.
and shaking. You talk about shaking in your boots.
Believe me, he was shaking all over. And he turned
to Elisha and said, what in the world should
we do? What can we do? Let me read it. Oh, this
is so thrilling. Therefore sent he thither horses
and chariots and a great host. And they came
by night and compassed the city. And when the
servant of the man of God was risen early and
gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city
both with horses and chariots. And his servant
said unto him, Alas, my master. Can't you just
see him shaking? How shall we do? In other words,
what in the world? We don't have a ghost of a
chance of getting out. I'm going to be dead in
a few minutes. We can't turn right. We can't
turn left. There is no possible victory for us.
For there they are. Look. Look. The scripture
says, behold and host. Compass the city, both
with horses and chariots and a great army. Turn
just a moment. See the servant of God. Calm,
unafraid, relaxed. Oh, this is beautiful. There
he is. One would not have thought there was a
nerve in his body. Completely relaxed because
of his perfect confidence in the one in whom
he had his trust. And Elisha prayed and said,
Lord, I pray thee, open his... Eyes that he may
see. You know, the thing that amazes me most
is the fact that Elijah wasn't praying, Oh, Lord,
save us. Oh, dear Lord, protect us. If ever you've
helped us, help us now. No. He had it out with
God long before this moment. The time to pray
isn't when trouble strikes. The time to cry out
to God isn't in the moment of disaster. Get your
praying done before. Have your contacts made
before trouble comes. Sure. And then when that
trouble comes, you have perfect confidence and
you continue to stay relaxed. Did he pray for
their protection? No. Did he pray for God to
help him out of that tight spot? No. Lord, I
pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And
the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and
he saw. And what did he see? And behold, the
mountain was full of... Horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha. Doesn't that do something
to you? It even relaxes me right now while I'm
talking to you about it. You want to know something?
God's presence with his children is a fact. And
not a theory. With some people, it's just a theory.
And that's all. Hear me. It's a living fact.
It's a reality. That God's presence is with his
children. pray but one prayer right now. If I
could get you to see the love of Jesus, the compassion
of Jesus, the tenderness of the Son of the Living
God. If I could only get you to know the personal
concern that He has for each one of us, it would
be the easiest thing in the world. for you to
come boldly before the Father's throne in prayer
and believe Him for the answer. If only now His
presence could become a reality to you, you would
not be defeated in your hour of crisis. Open
that precious one's eyes now that these things
may become real to them. For Jesus' sake. Amen.